Suggestions to help
- users of web pages
- people using a screen reader to hear the contents of a page
- other users with different kinds of impairment e.g. motor skills, hearing etc.
The suggestions are also there to improve Search Engine Optimisation and Usability.
20 things you need to know about Accessibility, SEO and usability | ||
What |
Why |
Good for… |
URLS |
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A URL should be made up of lowercase words, with hyphens rather than underscores. |
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SEO |
Don’t use full URLs in text e.g. http://www.centre-for-therapy.orgInstead describe the URL and make a link to it. |
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SEO and accessibility |
Group content in ‘bite-sized’chunks. |
Easier to scan and less off-putting than a large amount of text. Give the ‘chunks’ a heading. |
Usability |
Files |
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Avoid using files other than PDF on web pages. |
Users may not have Word or Excel on their device. Adobe Reader for pdfs is free so accessible to all. |
Accessibility |
Ensure you give PDF files etc. a name and include the file extension in the id when saving the file to your website e.g. registration.pdf, worksheet.xlsx | Browsers can recognise the file and allow you to open it. | Usability |
Include the file extension in the link e.g. Orthopaedic Treatments.pdf | To help people who use a screenreader. | Accessibility |
Files should open in a new window. | To help people with different accessibility issues. | Accessibility |
Links |
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Use bullet points for a list of links, rather than ’embed’ links in text: |
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Usability, SEO |
Don’t use links like ‘click here‘, or ‘more‘. Instead use text for linking e.g. ‘Recent Publications‘, the Speech given by Prof Teasdale. |
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Accessibility, SEO |
Don’t open any web links in a new window |
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Accessibility, Usability |
Images |
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Make sure you name your images properly i.e. give them a title (Alt text) and explain the purpose of the image: | Allows search engines to index the image. | |
Don’t use text on images |
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Accessibility, Usability |
Make sure you name your images properly i.e. give them a title (Alt text) and explain the purpose of the image so a screenreader will read out what the purpose of the image is. | ||
Titles and headings |
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Ensure you have a title in the top left-hand corner of your banner. | SEO, Accessibility | |
Ensure you have a title on every page; don’t use a heading style instead. | SEO, Accessibility | |
Ensure you use Heading styles for important information. |
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SEO, Accessibility, Usability |
Multimedia |
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All videos and audios need a transcript or captions. |
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Accessibility |
Miscellaneous |
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If you are going to use ‘moving content’, ensure the user can stop it. E.g. this is why we don’trecommend using a News Ticker! |
Annoying if a user can’t stop it! | Accessibility |
Don’t use colour as the only way to indicate users need to do something e.g. please click on the red button. |
This would be a problem for people who may not see the colour red, for example. Always give a text alternative! |
Accessibility |
Avoid using italics (1) and underline (2): |
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Accessibility, Usability |